


5 lines that didn't work and the 1 that finally did

by lasersheith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, lance's terrible pickup lines, side pairing: hidge, side pairing: sheith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 11:10:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14236002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasersheith/pseuds/lasersheith
Summary: Unwinding at the club after a long week sounded great in theory, but Lance wasn't having a great time. At least, not until he saw her.The 5 lines he tries to win her heart:Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?Do I know you from somewhere? Cause you look exactly like my next girlfriend.Hey girl, are you Australian? Because you’re meeting all of my koala-fications.Want to explore my TARDIS? Some say it’s bigger on the inside.Girl, you can dump tea in my harbor anytime.





	5 lines that didn't work and the 1 that finally did

**Author's Note:**

> Taking a quick break from your regularly scheduled sheithy-goodness to give Allurance some love.
> 
> I sincerely apologize to my Australian friends for the middle of this fic.

  1. Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?



 

The music on the dance floor was nearly deafening and he could feel the rhythmic thump of the bass in his chest. After a long week of getting up early, spending all day in class, spending all evening at work, and getting to bed late, he thought a fun night out on the town with his friends would put him in a better mood, but the booze in his veins made him too warm and the flashing lights were too bright and the music was just too damn loud. “Oh shit. Am I old?” He blurted out in a panic, turning towards his best friend. The larger man leaned down slightly and pointed to his ear with a confused look on his face. Lance could just barely make out the muffled “What?” He shouted over the din. 

 

“AM I OLD?” He all but screamed into his friend’s ear. His friend shook his head and mouthed  _ I CAN’T HEAR YOU.  _ Lance rolled his eyes and pointed to the small offshoot hallway that led to the bar area. Hunk nodded and followed him through the crowd to the quieter area. When they went through the threshold into the bar, Lance felt like he had been deep underwater and pulled up too fast. His teeth hurt. “What were you saying?” Hunk asked, wiggling his small finger into one ear, presumably to help with the awful ringing sensation that Lance also felt deep into his brain. “This kinda sucks. Are we too old for clubbing now? Should I get a cat?” It was probably the alcohol talking, but the sudden weight of the endless passage of time filled his chest. Hunk helped precisely not at all by laughing into his face.

 

“Dude, you’re 25. You’re not old. You’re just tired. Maybe we should grab a pizza, head home and just chill.” Lance frowned and crossed his arms. “Also, there’s no way our landlord would let us get a cat, it’s right there in the lease.” Lance sighed and dropped his head down in defeat. “Ok, fine.” He looked around at the rest of the revelers on the dance floor and sighed. “Let’s grab Pidge and…” He trailed off as he happened to briefly meet the eyes of a woman across the room. Not just any woman, but the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Her dark, sun-kissed skin seemed to emit a warm glow even in the unflattering light, and it made her shock of platinum white hair stand out even more. Her dress hugged her body in just the right the places to leave the most delicious hints to his imagination. “Wait, hang on, there’s something I have to do first.” He said over his shoulder to Hunk without looking away from her, already on the move.

 

As soon as he passed the glass, the thrum of the music hit him again, but he was on a mission now, and absolutely wouldn’t be deterred. There she was, dancing along to the beat, just slightly off-rhythm, laughing along with her friends. He met her eyes again and she smiled shyly at him, making no attempt to move away as he slid in front of her to join her in the dance. After a moment’s hesitation, he rested his hands gently on her hips as they swayed. Her cheeks bloomed with a light blush as she looped her arms around his neck. His heart was hammering in his chest along with the beat of the song and his knees felt weak as he looked into her stunning blue eyes. Far too soon, the song faded out and the floor was enveloped in just the briefest moment of quiet. He knew it might be his only chance, so he leaned in close to her ear and murmured his best pick up line. “Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?”

 

She pulled back with a look of mixed shock and amusement on her face before laughing quietly. She patted his cheek lightly and shook her head, striding away towards the restrooms. Lance watched her go breathlessly, she didn’t even turn her head to see if he was looking, but he somehow knew she could feel his eyes on her. The crowd parted as she walked, flowing ethereally among the mere mortals and soon filled in the gaps she left in her wake. He lost sight of her before he could make his feet move. The music picked up again, and she was lost. Lance dejectedly headed back to where he left Hunk only moments, but somehow an entire lifetime, ago. 

 

“Whoa oh em gee. Who was that girl?” Hunk said as Lance walked up to him, hands in his pockets. “She’s way, way too hot for you.” Lance’s frown was matched by Pidge’s, glaring up at Hunk with her arms across her chest. “Uh… and not that it matters because she has so many other amazing qualities and is also the best person in the universe, but so is Pidge.” He squeaked out apologetically. Pidge rolled her eyes, but patted his arm and smiled. Lance sighed dramatically. “Oh, she was only definitely my soulmate and now she’s gone forever and I’ll never see her again. And now I have to move so I can get a cat because I’m totally gonna die alone.” He whined. Pidge made a face that was equal parts annoyed and i-just-ate-gas-station-sushi. “You’re such a doof. It’s not that big of a club, let’s just split up and look for her. She kinda stands out.” Lance’s dejected frown turned into a bright grin. “Wow, really? You’d do that for me?” She sighed. “Of course we would, Lance. You just look so pathetic. We’re good people, we have to help.” Lance jumped up with a raise fist. “Alright, not my best moment, but I’ll take it!” He exclaimed. 

 

Hunk laughed and looked down at Pidge. “Ok, but if we find her, how do we tell Lance where she is?” He said cautiously, trying not to bring down the newly energized mood. Lance smirked. “Easy! We break the club up into quadrants! The wall with the lights is quadrant 1, North. It goes to the small raised-floor area over there,” He pointed enthusiastically, “Where it becomes quadrant 2. Same compass positions.” He wheeled around to the other side and pointed up at the catwalk area where people were dancing up above. “The whole catwalk is quadrant 3, and the bar is quadrant 4. Got it?” He finished, turning back to his friends. They both nodded once and grinned back at him. “Ok, Hunk’s scared of heights, so I’ll take quadrant 3.” Pidge said decisively. “Thanks, babe, you’re the best.” He whispered back, squeezing her shoulder lightly. “I’ll take quadrant 4, Keith’s working tonight and he might have some juicy gos- intel. Juicy intel.” Hunk offered. Lance nodded back and turned triumphantly to the dance floor. “That leaves me to secure quadrants 1 and 2. Let’s do this team!” He cried out, marching back towards the thick of the crowd without waiting for an answer. 

 

  1. Do I know you from somewhere? Cause you look exactly like my next girlfriend.



 

Hunk walked over to the bar with a grin as a familiar mop of messy brown hair turned his way, his usual drink already started. “Hey Keith!” He called, sitting down and pulling a few bills out of his wallet. Keith smiled at him and handed over the drink, taking Hunk’s money to go make change. “Where’s the rest of the crew?” He said fondly as he handed back the excess. Hunk stuffed a dollar in the tip jar as he took a sip of the delicious fruity beverage. “Lance met this crazy hot girl, but she walked away before he could ask for her number so now we’re trying to find her so he can have another shot at blowing it.” Keith laughed and started wiping up a few errant drops of sticky liquor from the bartop. This far away from the speakers, the music was actually nice instead of deafening and quiet conversations were buzzing all around them. 

 

“Well, pretty much everyone comes by here at some point, what’s she look like?” He asked as he cleaned. “Well, she’s super tall and has this awesome blue dress.” He pulled the cherry off the tiny umbrella and worked it between his teeth as he thought. “I think she had blonde hair. It might have been white, though.” Keith nodded along with his description. “She’s like… a little bit darker than me and has gigantic blue eyes. Suuuper pretty.” Hunk finished as he started biting in the orange slice. Keith hummed in thought. “She does sound too pretty for Lance.” He added with a small smirk. Hunk chuckled into his drink. “I think I know who you’re talking about, she was with people I recognized from school. I think most of them were Thetas. She hasn’t been by the bar in a while.” He finished his thought looking off to the side, away from Hunk. Hunk followed his eyes to the tall, muscular, gorgeous man leaning against the bar a few seats down. “Uh… I’ll text you if I see her, I gotta…” He looked back at Hunk and nodded towards the other man. 

 

Hunk smirked over at the guy and waggled his eyebrows as they made brief eye contact. The scar across his nose darkened with the rest of his cheeks. “Go get ‘im, tiger.” Hunk said with a chuckle as he finished the rest of his drink. Keith’s blush matched the other man’s as he made his way over to take his drink order. Hunk smiled to himself as he pulled out his phone and opened the group chat with Lance and Pidge. “Keith says she was at the bar earlier with some sorority girls but he hasn’t seen her in a while.” He walked around the bar area a little more after receiving two thumbs up emojis in response. Mystery girl was nowhere to be found, though.

 

..

 

Pidge slinked her way across the catwalk, thanking her lucky stars that she’d elected to wear boots instead of heels. She had no idea how some of these girls were even standing on the death trap disguised as a raised dance floor, much less doing any dancing. She felt her phone go off, and sent back a thumbs up at Hunk’s lack of sighting. She craned her head over the railing, trying to get a better vantage point of the rest of the club from up high, but the strobing lights made it difficult to see with any kind of acuity. 

 

She’d made a few rounds of quadrant 3, but so far hadn’t bumped into Lance’s mysterious crush. She tried the other side of the railing and squinted into the crowd. Maybe Lance had been right, maybe they had outlived their clubbing days. What she wouldn’t have given to be at home on the couch with her feet in Hunk’s lap and a bowl of popcorn between them, marathoning bad sci-fi movies until they fell asleep. Just as she was about to send her mission failure text, a shock of white hair stood out in the crowd. She pulled her phone out immediately. “Quadrant 2, southeast! She’s on the move!” 

She squinted hard, looking for Lance as she tried to track the woman’s movement out of the corner of her eye. She caught sight of him hastily walking just slightly off course and sent a hasty series of corrections. “Souther!” “More south!” “Whatever, go left a little bit!” She chuckled to herself as she watched Lance frantically look at his phone while squeezing through the crowd, trying to keep watch for her and for Pidge’s texts. Maybe she’d been wrong, this was kind of fun.

 

..

 

Lance bobbed and weaved and swiveled his head back and forth, trying not to run into people while looking at his phone and trying to find his previous dance partner. He was starting to think Pidge was just playing a mean joke on him and was preparing to text her as much when he finally bumped into her. It was too loud to talk still, but she smiled when he gave her an apologetic look and slipped her arms around him again. He blushed and returned her smile, swaying with her to upbeat song. 

 

She brushed a stray lock of hair from his forehead that must have fallen forward in his mad dash through the crowd. Butterflies erupted through his stomach. He leaned in to pull her closer as the bass thumped around them. As the song ended, she moved to pull away again with a playful smile on her face. “Wait, don’t go!” He practically shouted and reached out for her hand. She stopped moving away but didn’t come back as close as she was before. He held her hand loosely, just enough to show his intent but not tightly enough that she couldn’t leave if she wanted to. “Do I know you from somewhere?” He asked earnestly. She furrowed her brows a little and shook her head, opening her mouth to speak. Lance was already talking again before he noticed she was about to respond. “Cause you look exactly like my next girlfriend.” He finished the line with his best charming smile. 

 

She laughed again and shook her head, leaning in closer to place a soft kiss on his cheek. “Hmm… keep trying. You might get there eventually.” She said into his ear. He stood stock still, barely breathing as she slid out of his arms again, following a few of her friends away from the dance floor as the music exploded around them. He brought his hand up to his cheek and took a few shuddery breaths. This chick was gonna be the death of him, but man would he enjoy the ride. 

 

He pulled his phone out and sent, “meet back at HQ,” as he headed over to the spot his friends had met at before. He felt like he was walking on air. He hadn’t had a drink in half an hour but he was wondering if the slight buzz he’d worked up before might have been a bit deeper than he’d thought. Pidge and Hunk looked up at him expectantly. He stared off into space dreamily, still holding his cheek. Pidge filled Hunk in on what she’d seen while he regrouped. Once Hunk was clued in, Pidge prodded him for the up close and personal details. “She told me to keep trying! I gotta find her again.” He said with a far away sigh. “She has the sexiest accent… I think she's Australian or something.” 

 

Pidge frowned and put her hands on her hips. “Ok, look. I'm saying this as a friend who cares deeply for you, from a place of love.” She adjusted her glasses and fixed Lance with a hard look. “If you say a single thing about  _ going down under, _ she will hit you. And then  _ I _ will hit you. And I might make Hunk hit you, too.” Lance snapped out of his trance and placed a hand over his heart as she glared. “What? I wouldn't do that. Plus, Hunk would never hit me! We're best friends! Practically brothers!” He shouted, looking at Hunk for a response. 

He cringed, looking between his girlfriend and his best friend. “Sorry, man, I'm way more scared of her than I am of you. You'd forgive me.” Lance shrank back and sighed again. “Yeah, that's fair.” He conceded with a nod. “Ok, let’s get another drink and head back out to look.”

 

  1. Hey girl, are you Australian? Because you’re meeting all of my koala-fications.



 

When they got back to the bar, Keith was still extremely distracted talking to the handsome man Hunk had seen earlier. The three of them took their seats and patiently waited while the pair continued to flirt, gazing soulfully into each other’s eyes. Lance groaned and let his forehead fall to the sticky bartop. “Ugh, even mullet’s hooked his dream guy. This is so unfair.” Hunk patted him sympathetically and greeted Keith as he walked over and started making their usual drinks. “Oh ho ho… I see your night’s going well.” He teased across the bar and wiggled his eyebrows. “Yeah, who’s the eye candy, damn!” Pidge said, staring in open appreciation down the bar where the man was still looking at Keith like he hung the moon. 

 

Keith’s cheeks tinged red as he took Lance’s card and swiped it through the register. “His name is Shiro. He’s uh…” Keith took a quick glance back over at him. They both looked away with shy smiles as they caught each other looking. “He’s in the air force. Just got stationed here.” He prodded the top of Lance’s head with a pen until he pulled himself off the bar to sign the receipt. Pidge noticed that he didn’t leave a tip and rolled her eyes, stuffing a 5 dollar bill in the jar. Keith added another cherry to her drink appreciatively. “So what’s with you? Your face is covered in grenadine by the way.” Keith said with unveiled amusement, tossing a rag at Lance. “Did you finally strike out with that girl?”

 

Lance scrubbed at his forehead with the rag and grumbled. “I did  _ not _ strike out. She told me to keep trying.” Keith rolled his eyes and took the rag out of Lance’s hand, scrubbing harder than was strictly necessary at the red splotch on his face. “She was probably being sarcastic.” Lance growled under his breath and batted Keith’s hand away. “She was not!” Pidge laughed and interjected. “I actually think she was being serious, I saw her kiss his cheek before she walked away.” Hunk placed his umbrella behind his ear this time and grinned. “Oh yeah, she’s totally into him.” He batted his eyes and pulled his hands up to his cheeks. “Oh Lance, you’re so charming. Chase me around this club all night, it really shrimps my barbie.” He said in a terrible Australian accent. His friends cringed as he made kissy faces to the air. 

 

“Ok, I’m cutting you off, Hunk. I forgot what a lightweight you are.” Keith said, shooting an apologetic look to Pidge, who was only barely containing a fit of giggles. That was her only drink of the night, too, so Keith couldn’t even blame her terrible sense of humor on booze. Lance rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t even make sense, and she so doesn’t sound like that, come on!” They bickered over who could do the better Australian accent, all failing miserably as Keith stared in blatant judgment. He suddenly tossed the rag at Lance’s face. “Shh, shut up! Here she comes!” He half whispered. Lance looked up and stared at her in admiration as she strode over to the bar with a group of several women he’d seen around campus, but didn’t really recognize. 

 

She made an obvious show of avoiding his gaze as Keith took the women’s orders. She ordered a drink, voice low and smooth as silk. Pidge, Hunk, and Keith shot Lance panicked sideways glances, but he was too starstruck to notice. He cleared his throat and sidled up next to her as she paid for her drink. “Hey, girl, are you Australian? Because you’re meeting all of my koala-fications.” Hunk and Pidge shared a horrified look and Keith slipped back across the bar to where Shiro was waiting for him to avoid the second-hand embarrassment. The group next to Allura burst into mocking laughter. 

 

“Oh darling… I'm British.” She shook her head as she took a sip, leaving a pink lipstick smudge on the glass. “And you're meeting fewer and fewer of mine the more you talk.” She winked at him and turned back to the group. They all walked away, giggling amongst themselves. Lance stared with his mouth open as she walked away. “Ugh, she keeps leaving! Does she want me to leave her alone? Am I being creepy? Oh god, I’m being a creep aren’t I? Am I one of THOSE guys? Do I have beat myself up?” Pidge and Hunk groaned. 

 

“Dude, how do you not know the difference between British and Australian? They’re not even close!” Pidge shouted. Lance rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, they’re pretty close.” He argued. His friends emphatically shook their heads no. “Ok fine, it was super loud down there. It was an honest mistake.” Pidge took another swig of her drink, deeply regretting being the designated driver and only allowing herself to have the one. “Stop… stop talking.” Pidge sighed, taking a moment for herself before looking Lance in the eye. “She’s clearly at least a little interested. Somehow. Maybe you should try talking to her like a normal person  _ instead _ of using terrible pick up lines.” 

  
“Psh yeah ok.” Lance said dismissively. Pidge barely managed to suppress the growl building in her throat. “Maybe I just need a more British angle!” He punctuated his sentence with a snap of his fingers. “Oh, oh! Doctor Who is British!” Hunk offered, stealing a cherry from Pidge’s glass. “Nice! Good call, Hunk!” Lance belted out, already headed back to the dance floor to look for her again. “Ok, do you  _ want _ her to punch him?” Hunk shrugged. “He said he wanted British ideas.” He made for the orange slice on the rim of her cup and she swatted his hand away.

  
  


  1. Want to explore my TARDIS? Some say it’s bigger on the inside



 

It took another few songs to track her down again, but the headache and potential hearing loss would be well worth it for another shot with Dream Girl (as he’d taken to calling her in his head). She shook her head and laughed when she saw him. He noticed the rest of her group of friends giving him scornful looks, and she looked a little embarrassed as he offered his hand, but took it after a slight pause. The song was too upbeat and quick for the intimate dancing they’d been doing earlier, but they still flowed together like water and Lance lost himself to the music and her eyes. 

 

As the song ended, she shouted out over the last few notes. “Did you come up with another one?” He flashed his teeth in a cocky grin and leaned close to her ear so she could hear him. “Want to explore my TARDIS? Some say it’s bigger on the inside.” Her face was a mix of shock, disgust and confusion. “I haven't the faintest idea what that means.” Her nose wrinkled as the next song started. “But, no thank you.” He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Don’t worry!” He shouted over the music as it started up again. “One more dance! I’ll think of a really good one!” He smiled again as she covered up a laugh with her hand. “I bet you will!” He could barely make it out over the noise.

 

It was another song that had everyone jumping and hollering along, a nostalgic beat from years ago that most of the participants still clearly loved. The crowd swelled around them and he was powerless to keep himself from getting pushed and pulled every which way, away from Dream Girl. In between every song, he pushed and elbowed his way back closer and closer to her, only to get driven back by sweaty strangers every time. He recognized someone from the group she’d been with after several agonizingly long songs. The woman saw him as well and sneered at him as he approached. 

 

“She left! You creeped her out, weirdo!” She had to shout several times over the loud music for Lance to gather the gist of what she said enough to fill in the rest. His shoulders hunched and he let the sea of undulating dancers carry him off to the side of the crowd where he made his way to the restrooms. He splashed cold water on his face at the sink and sighed. He needed a drink.

 

  1. Girl, you can dump tea in my harbor anytime.



 

Lance slumped onto the barstool next to Shiro with an exaggerated groan. “Move over, muscles, you're hogging my therapist.” He said, tapping his elbow against Shiro's where it was splayed out on the bar. He pulled his arm back closer to himself and smiled as Keith laughed at them. “Alright, what'll it be?” Keith asked as he pulled out a fresh glass. Lance leaned his chin on his hand and looked at Keith despondently. “What do you recommend for existential dread and the crushing fear that you're gonna die alone?” 

 

Keith rolled his eyes and started pouring a rum and coke. “I don't know, a fresh diaper and a nap maybe?” He said derisively as he handed over the drink. Lance made to go for his wallet but Keith put a hand up. “Don't worry about it. You look pathetic enough, I'll float you this one.” Normally Keith was a stickler about not giving away free drinks to friends, but he was, at his core, a big softie. Lance nodded appreciatively and took a sip. 

 

“This about that girl?” He kept his hands busy by wiping down the bar again. Lance sighed again. “Yeah, I struck out big time. She doesn't watch Doctor Who! How could I possibly known that!” Keith made a face like he'd just shoved an entire lemon in his mouth. “Have you tried just… not being weird?” He said it so earnestly that Shiro couldn't contain the faint giggles that bubbled up. Lance glared at both of them. Before he could defend himself, Keith looked pointedly across the room. “Well, I think you have one more shot at least. 2 o’clock.” He murmured. Lance turned and saw her sitting by herself at a table, looking intently at her phone. She glanced up and then looked away hurriedly, obviously trying not to smile as she saw him looking. 

 

“You got this.” Keith started, serious expression fading into a soft smile. “Just be yourself.” Just as Lance was about to respond, a series of increasingly hostile “Bro!”s rang out on the other side of the bar. Keith growled low in his throat and seemingly effortlessly hopped over the counter to go break up the impending fight. “This is a club, not a biker bar! You wanna fight, take it outside!” He shouted as he got between the two frat boys who were about to throw down. Shiro's mouth was hanging wide open as he watched. 

 

“You ok, bud?” Lance asked teasingly. “No. No I am not.” Shiro replied, eyes never leaving Keith as he easily took charge of the situation before the bouncers could come to throw the men out. Lance chuckled. “He's not that tough. One time he sold plasma for an entire semester to afford tickets to a Kesha concert.” Lance tactically left out the part where he was right there with him because he wanted to go as well. To be fair, it had been a great show. Shiro's eyes went wide. “I love Kesha.” He squeaked out. Lance shook his head and patted him on the arm. “Good luck, man.” He said, grabbing his drink and heading over to Dream Girl's table. 

 

As he approached, another man was standing by her, but she was still looking down at her phone. She glanced up as he spoke, bored and dissatisfied painted all over her face. “I'm not interested, sorry.” She said flatly, going back to her phone. The man was about to plead his case but Lance walked up, shoulders squared and chest puffed as much as he was able. “She's not interested, pal, go pop your third collar or something.” The man turned and scoffed at him, actually popping the collar of his polo shirt up higher. She smiled as he shooed the unwanted guest away. 

 

“You again?” Lance's frown quickly melted into a warm smile as she pressed the lockscreen on her phone and looked up at him. “Me again.” He answered, partially dazed. The faint blush on her cheeks from the alcohol made the blue in her eyes even more dazzling. “Well, go on with it then.” She said, waving one hand in front of her and using the other to toss her hair over her shoulders. “Huh?” Lance replied, awed. “Your ill-advised strategy to woo me with silly pick up lines. I'm sure you've found precisely the one you're confident will work this time.” She covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. Lance grinned back at her. “Oh I think you'll like this one.” He said with a wink. She crossed her arms and sat back expectantly. 

 

“Girl, you can dump tea in my harbor anytime.” She covered her mouth again and giggled up a storm. Lance felt his knees go weak. “It's really cute how you do that, by the way.” She looked up at him, confused. “The… the thing. With your hand.” He stammered out, waving his own hand in front of him. “You cover your mouth when you laugh. It's cute.” Her eyes widened. “No I don't!” She said, catching herself bringing her hand up again as she chuckled. “Oh no, I do!” He beamed at her and sat down across the table. 

 

“Well, you have an incredible smile, so you don't need to. Really, though, happy looks good on you either way.” The blush that darkened her face had nothing to do with alcohol that time. She cleared her throat and looked at him seriously. “Well, thank you. But your line,” she started, crossing her arms over the table and leaning in a bit. “It would make much more sense if you were British and I were American.” Lance's mouth fell into and 'o’ shape, realizing she was right. “Well… technically I'm Cuban.” He tried as a weak defense. She laughed again, fighting to keep her hand on the table. 

 

“Technically, if you go back far enough, we're all African, so I don't think that's much of a help.” He smiled dreamily at her. “Wow, you're really smart.” She giggled incredulously and shook her head. “Because I know the very basics of human evolution?” He cringed a little. “Hey, there's like 4 billion people on this planet who probably have no clue about evolution.” His voice softened. “But, no, I mean. You're just really… witty. You always have something to say that I'm not expecting.” Her eyes softened as he spoke. “It’s just… it's really cool.” Her phone buzzed from the tabletop and she frowned as she read the message. 

 

“I'm sorry, I have to go.” Lance shot her a lopsided smile. “Alright. Have a good night.” She licked her lips and sent a shy smile of her own his way. “I hope I'll see you next time.” He huffed out a chuckle. “Yeah, next time.” She waved a little as she grabbed her purse and started heading across the bar. As she reached the door, he realized what a colossal moron he was. “Wait!” He shouted, standing up from the table as quickly as he could. “I didn't get your name!” She smiled as she opened the door. “Next time!” She called back with a blinding smile that stole the air from his lungs as she walked out. 

 

He sat back at the bar, still grinning from ear to ear. He shooed Keith away and back over to Shiro when he came to check on him. He pulled out his phone and opened up his group chat with Pidge and Hunk. “I’m at the bar whenever you guys are ready to leave” He typed out, laughing quietly to himself and shaking his head as he hit send. He was already planning next weekend’s visit and set a reminder in his phone.  _ Friday: Go to Club Arus even if you’re on your deathbed. _

 

+1 Oh my gosh, are you ok? 

 

After a few minutes he got a reply from Pidge saying they’d run into some friends and wanted to dance for a bit, so Lance sent back a thumbs up and decided to have another drink and mess around on his phone. Spending half the night running around the loud dance floor looking for that incredible woman had certainly been worth it, but his ears would be ringing for days. He caught up on reddit, instagram, and even ventured into the news before he started getting too antsy just sitting by himself and decided to head outside for some fresh air. He sent a message saying as much in case his friends came looking for him and headed out into the chilly night. 

 

It was nearly 1:30 in the morning, so the crowd out on the sidewalk wasn’t overwhelmingly packed, but there were enough late night partiers that wasn’t as refreshing as he’d have liked. He picked a spot with a bit of breathing room and stretched his arms up over his head with a exhausted yawn. It had been a looooong night. He was preparing to go back inside when he saw her again, but this time the sight had his heart pounding in the worst of ways. 

 

Without a second thought, he ran up to where she stood by the wall near the alley between the club and a long-since closed record store. Mascara had run down her cheeks, carried on glitter-stained tear drops as she clutched her phone and cried quietly, far from the crowd. “Oh my gosh, are you ok?” He blurted, stopping in front of her. He wanted to reach out and grab her shoulders, in equal parts to pull her into a warm embrace and check her over for injuries, but held himself back so he didn’t make her even more uncomfortable than she already looked. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes as she looked up at him, not appearing very surprised to see him. 

 

“You again. You’re everywhere tonight, aren’t you?” He smiled sadly at her. “I’ll go if you want, I just had to check on you. What’s the matter?” She swallowed hard and sniffled again before taking a deep breath and looking away. “I came here with some friends, or so I thought, but they left without telling me.” Her voice started strong but began to break. “I’ve only been here a month, I haven’t the faintest idea where I am or how to get to the train station or if the trains even run this late.” Tears streamed down her face in earnest again. “I shouldn’t have had so much to drink, now I’m getting all emotional. I wish I’d never decided to study abroad.” Lance reached out and slid a comforting hand on her shoulder. It was a chilly night and her dress- while beautiful- didn’t cover her arms. She had to be freezing. 

 

He pulled his phone and wallet out of his jacket and stuffed them into his pants pockets before shrugging it off and wrapping it around her. She looked up at him with a grateful smile and let out a small, slightly bitter-sounding laugh. He pulled out his phone and sent another message to the group chat.  _ Legit SOS, pls come outside RN.  _ He sent it and looked back at her. “Hey, my friend Pidge drove me here, she’s coming outside right now with her boyfriend. She can take you home and he and I can take the bus so it’s not weird for you or anything.” Her smile wavered and she nodded. “I don’t know what I did to deserve that, but I’m very grateful.” She said quietly. Lance smiled shyly at her. “You don’t have to do anything to deserve basic decency. It was a major party foul for your friends to ditch you, I don’t want you to think all Americans are like that.” He replied. 

 

“But... if you really wanted to do something to say thank you, you could tell me your name.” His hopeful smile made her genuinely laugh and she nodded. “It's Allura.” His mouth dropped open. Now that she said it he wondered how he could ever have thought it could be anything else. “Wow that's… that's really fitting. And beautiful.” He said breathlessly, not even bothering to suppress his awestruck grin. She covered her hand with her mouth again as she giggled. “You don't talk to girls much do you?” Brought back to reality with her teasing, Lance made a dismissive sound. “Well I talk to them all the time, they just don't usually talk back. Except Pidge. Can't shut that girl up half the time! But she's basically my sister and dating my best friend so that doesn't count.” Allura began laughing so hard she had to clutch at her sides and shook her head at his antics. “Wha-hey! Are you makin fun of me?” He barked out in mock-indignation. “No, no. Not at all.” She said with shy smile. “I was just thinking… you're very sweet. And you still haven't told me your name.”

 

He looked at the ground and scuffed his shoe along the cracked sidewalk. “Lance.” He answered quietly, finally looking back up at her. “Well, Lance, thank you. For everything. You made tonight not a total disaster I suppose.” He grinned back up at her. “You know what? I’ll count that as win.” Allura was about to say something else as Pidge ran up to him, worry all over her face. “Lance! I came out as soon as I got your message, what’s wrong?” Her face was a little red from quick exit. “Thanks, Pidge. Allura's friends ditched her,” He hooked a thumb in Allura’s direction. “Would you mind giving her a ride? I kinda told her you would. And that Hunk and I would just take the bus…” Pidge turned and looked at her, mild shock briefly covered her face as she took in exactly who Allura was. “Oh, yeah sure.” She said with a nod, giving Lance a pointed look. 

 

Allura smiled apologetically. “I'm so sorry, I don't want to impose,” She started before Pidge cut her off with a wave of her hand. “No big deal! It’s girl code. Can’t leave ya hanging!” She said with a bright smile. “We were leaving anyway. I'm parked in the garage over on 3rd.” She nodded her head towards the street. “Thank you so much.” Allura’s smile was contagious. “Oh! Your jacket!” She started shrugging it off before Lance stopped her. “No, it’s ok. Just leave it in Pidge’s car. I’ll grab it later. It’s still a couple blocks to the garage.” She nodded at him and thanked him again. He offered a small wave as they walked down the street, dreamy smile still on his face. 

 

He and Hunk decided to spring for an Uber to avoid taking the late night bus. They were both exhausted and it was too cold without his jacket. They beat Pidge to the apartment and waited up for her, just in case. She strolled in carrying Lance’s jacket not terribly long afterward and dumped it on his head from where he sat on the couch, half asleep. He stirred and jumped to his feet. “Wha-huh? Oh.” He shook his foggy head to hopefully clear it a bit. “Thanks again for doing that Pidge.” She smirked up at him. “Yeah, I’m pretty great.” She pulled a scrap of paper out of her pocket and held it up. “Before I give you this, just know, that girl is super cool and smart and funny, and if you screw this up, I might leave Hunk for her. So no pressure.” She handed over the scrap of paper and stuck out her tongue at Hunk’s indignant “Hey!” from the other side of the couch. 

 

“Kidding! I’m kidding!” She said as she walked over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I would never leave you. Even if your modulation methods are sloppy at best.” He grumbled under his breath but didn’t say anything back. Lance stood in amazement staring at the piece of paper Pidge had handed him: Allura’s phone number was scrawled on it. Even her handwriting was beautiful. “I’m beat, it’s bedtime. Good luck, lover boy!” She called teasingly as she made her way to the bedroom she and Hunk shared. Hunk offered a goodnight as well and followed her. Lance sat back down on the couch with a smile so wide that it almost hurt his cheeks. 

 

“Glad you made it home safe :)” He sent. After a moment’s hesitation, he it followed up with, “Can I take you dinner tomorrow?” He sat and stared at his phone, waiting with baited breath for her reply. “Hmm… I suppose ;)” She sent back after a few minutes. Lance clutched his phone to his chest and let out a very dignified and definitely quite manly squeal. They worked out the details with a few more messages and Lance fell asleep not long after, still smiling. 

  
  
  
  



End file.
